I am wondering how other instructors keep themselves "fresh" after teaching the same course numerous times? How do you ensure the material is still exciting for you, so your class can "feel" that? Karen "kam" Maiorano

I've been teaching online courses for the last 5 years, but I've taught a great variety of subject matters over the last few decades. One thing I've noticed and have yet to find a truly effective way to overcome, is the overwhelmed feeling some students get right out of the gate. They'll look at the projects, look at the complexity (I teach in areas involving design as well as scripting and coding) and they just shut down. The material isn't a skip through the tulip fields, but it IS broken down into small manageable bites, and I am very active in working with students and covering each aspect. However, I find that a significant number of students, who can do the work if I can get them to focus on one aspect, completely shut down seemingly out of nowhere. I start getting e-mails that make it sound like they've been tasked with outlining a plan for world peace. Surprisingly, a serious lecture with a bit of humor has helped quite a bit, but I find I spend half an hour of a scheduled hour long chat talking them off a ledge. When I finally get through to them, they carry on through, often achieving an A. My wife did this in a class a friend was teaching, failed it twice. I finally stepped in and isolated each step and didn't let her think about any other, she got an A. This isn't a practical solution for a class of 30. Any ideas, anything you've done that would help? Trip Bauer

Has anyone utilized current event articles as a way to engage students? Within the courses I teach, I will post current event articles to our discussion board forum and then faciliate a conversation with students related to article. I try to tie the current event article into our area of focus for the week.

Hi In my 11 years of teaching online, I have had my share of conflict with students. It usually starts with a student who requests an extension for one week and then requests another the following week for some new and unrelated emergency. I realize the strain of being an online student and often bad things happen to good people. Therefore I have a rather liberal extension policy. Most times it works but there will always be the student who sees this as an opportunity to try and procrastinate all the way to the end of the course. As an example, last semester I had student who had internet problems. The following week he was in a car accident and the third week a family member was being evicted from their home. My extension policy is 7 days from the original due date, period. No further extensions. This student became angry when on the third week he only just handed in week 1 and was heavily penalized. He also became upset with me when I refused a third extension. I told him that he should contact his advisor and if his claims were legitimate then I would grant a third extension but the first week penalties remained. I felt I had done everything possible for this student. I never heard from his advisor nor were there anymore extension requests. This student did pass my class but barley. My extension policy is clearly stated and posted on the Announcement Board from day one. I always write to students who are missing work and remind them that I will always grade late work but that penalties may apply. Bill

Hello As I mentioned earlier in my response that as an instructor it is easy for the facilitator to take a backseat or misunderstand the importance of instructor involvement when it comes to the discussion boards. I made that mistake in my early years of teaching online. I mistakenly assumed that the discussion board was solely for student interaction and that I really had no place interfering or getting involved. What I found was that my students were adopting the same the same philosophy and were posting weak or short comments and only reaching the minimum requirements each week. Since that rough start I have found that the greater the presence of the instructor in the discussion area each week the more participation I get from the students (well a good percentage at least). I have made it a rule that I will post a minimum of 8 to 10 postings a week. This includes my own personal thoughts on the subject matter as well as my own responses to student comments. I now find that some students will also reach that number as well and I find a great number respond to my comments as well. It’s really easy when you think about it. Every morning after coffee (it has to be after coffee) I go to my computer and post a comment and one or two responses and I am finished. The students interpret this as a huge effort on my behalf. Bill Becker

Hi At my university, it is mandatory for the instructors to post their biography. I am lucky because I have 20 years’ experience in aerospace engineering and program management besides my years in academics as well. I am lucky in the sense that I have achieved a lot during my career. Normally I am a very private person who does not like to have my credentials made public. However, it has made a big difference for me when establishing my role as content expert and authority in the classroom. It helps add to the respect that an instructor needs to establish early at the beginning of the term. Have you considered doing the same? How else do you all go about establishing your role? Bill

I think it is important to attempt counseling a student first through a simple and to the point e-mail. I would always include my faculty manager on such e-mails. If the student seems to continue with issues, I would set up a conference call with my manager and allow this person to have input as well. This is the steps to resolve nearly any issues.

I use weekly office time for my students to have an open invitation to meet me in the chat room. This serves as a safe time for them to voice concerns or simply chat about a topic. Of course I am available at other times but this seems to engage them at a fairly high level regarding course content. Other ways I engage is through the discussions and often I will like a video or U-tube clip in the discussions to make a point. They love it.

I start my courses with a short video clip offering a hello, a bit about myself and end it with my dogs and daughter and stating how much I love online learning. I think this puts a "real" person into the setting. I follow-up with a note to each student and give my cell number in that note. It makes them feel they are able to reach me any time they need me. If that becomes abused I simply address it at that point. To this time I have only had one or two student who called far too much.... Debbie

Hi I have been teaching online for 11 years. Over that time period I have developed a series of postings that I place on the classroom announcement board. I include welcome, class expectations, lateness/assignment extension policy, late penalties for assignments, academic integrity policy, and my office hours. Can anyone think of other announcements that would be appropriate for the first day of class? Bill Becker

It is essential to always have a continuous ongoing assessment of the classroom with revisions and updates always being implemented to bring the course to the next level of online learning and the classroom meeting the outcomes and objectives.

The syllabus is the vital tool to produce for students enabling the learning outcomes and learning objectives to be successfully implement and achieved by the students.

"When teaching in an online environment, content must not only be provided, but provided through the proper vehicle for delivery. You CANNOT simply copy lectures and presentations into an online template." quote from the course material EL103 - It is essential to implement a student centered learning approach and teaching style to see the success of learning/teaching exchange take place. Kimberly Riley

Instructor presence in the online environment is very important. Telling students your typical routine of when you will check in daily or when you might be away helps them manage their expectations. Responding to emails in a timely manner makes them feel like you care about them. It takes more time to nurture students in the online environment. Once good practice is to make sure you respond to everyone in the discussion, not just the first student to post each week. You may not keep track, but the students do! In what ways do you make your presence known? Angie

A learner has sent you an email challenging your choice of activities in the learning unit. He states that he doesn't believe that the discussion questions are relevant and the assignments are a complete waste of his time. How would you handle this learner?

Consider the following posts to the discussion: Learner 1 post to Learner 2: "I feel that this course is very difficult, and I just don't get the concept. I am trying, but I can't see me passing and I am not good at failure." Learner 1 post to Learner 3: "I wish that I had the ideas running through my head that you do. Great post." Learner 1 post to Learner 4: "I read your post and I am afraid that I have gotten overwellmed. I am just hoping to get through this class. I came from another program and I am really feeling that I made a mistake. I hope not, I really want to complete this program. That is my dream for many years." Based on the discussion posts of Learner 1 to other learners in the discussion forum, describe how you will handle this situation. What strategies will you use to support this learner?

Teaching a course online does not equate to the same responsibilities when teaching the same course in a traditional classroom setting. Do you agree or disagree? Explain your answer.

One of the greatest challenges I have found in facilitating discussions is that many learners simply post the minimum requirements and once they have met the expectations of the discussion, they disengage and don't bother to come back into the discussion to extend the dialog on the topic. What will be your role in discussions? How will you encourage substantive participation? What strategies will you use to extend learner’s thinking and keep the discussion focused on the intended outcomes?

Consider the two scenarios below and describe how you will communicate to each of these learners. Discuss the reasoning behind your feedback decisions. Scenario 1: Mike turns in a self-evaluation of his performance on an assignment that indicates that he thought he did an excellent job and met all of the criteria in the grading rubric. When you grade Mike's assignment, you see that he has not done as well as he thought he did. Describe how you will communicate with Mike regarding his performance in relationship to how he thought he did. Without providing the details of your feedback, discuss the ways you could provide actionable feedback to him to help him improve his performance. Scenario 2: Kathy turns in a self-evaluation of her performance on the assignment that indicates that she knows she didn't do a good job on the assignment. When you grade it you find that she accurately evaluated her performance. How will your communications differ from how you communicated with Mike? What will be your area of focus to provide actionable feedback to help her improve performance?

If an online student does not respond to your offers to help; as an online Instructor, there is very little more you can do. Do you agree or disagree? Explain your answer.